Huge shout out and props to the Front Office. What a masterclass !!

[Gumby]

They put $250M in renovations into the stadium from 2022-23 and are currently building a state of the art training facility. Not sure how any Patriots fan could have missed the atrium, lighthouse and video board that were the most visible parts of a renovation that went much further than its most visible components but just watching a game those three are hard to miss

Haven’t they also replaced the field surface twice?

 

[UGAPatsfan]

I did find that odd how he specifically mentioned the cost of moving on from Mayo and that entire staff, not sure I've ever heard any owner talk about such things.
I'm not a Kraft apologist or hater, overall he's a good owner.
Only thing I care about is that he realized his house was on fire and he did what was necessary to extinguish said fire and rebuild.

This is true but it is also true that he LIT the fire himself by hiring a coach everyone knew wasn’t qualified.

And also probably keeping BB too long but I can’t really blame him on that one. No good way to fire a HOF coach.

 

[maust]

Haven’t they also replaced the field surface twice?

They replaced it twice in 2017 alone. Half a dozen turf replacements since switching to field turf from grass in '06 just that I know of. I'd guess there were probably more than that, I'm certainly no expert on the subject

 

[Wozzy]

One game at a time…

Go Pats!

 

[PP2]

(sigh)
Only here at PF could a thread with a first post giving well deserved kudos to the front office immediately turn to Kraft bashing.
Whatever flaws Kraft has he is still one of the best owners in the league, granted the list of 'good' owners is short.

That was tongue in cheek, relax.

 

[Huckleberry1]

For me it was easy.
You can't compete in this league until you find your QB.
If you need one, have conviction in him and he is there, you take him, period.
I personally wanted him over Daniels. Never considered Williams since it was known he was going #1.
I saw enough of JJ, Nix and Penix to know there was a significant drop off after the top 3.
I'm just a guy on a couch who loves football, so I'm not going to give the front office much credit for drafting Maye, as even couch coaches like me knew it was the right move, the only move to make.

That's a fair take, unless you then blame Wolf for a bad 24' Draft, in which case it would be complete ********. If you are applying responsibility to someone you take the good with the bad. That was a very bad draft, but it got them their franchise quarterback. And even though you, I, and many others wanted Maye there was a significant number of fans who wanted them to take the picks and move down, others who wanted Harrison Jr., and a variety of bizarre others takes. So it can't the given pick so many now want to claim that it was, but it was definitely the right pick,

 

[Bill Lee]

In no particular order:

Kraft
Biscotti
Hunt
Packers president
Rooney
Benson
Jodi Allen
York

Even tho I detest the Colts, Carlie Irsay-Gordon seems to be a pretty good owner, engaged and willing to spend money.

The Phil Rivers thing was a lark but still it shows she wants to win and isn't afraid to try things out.

Even taking Daniel Jones was a bit of a gamble, one that was paying off big till he got injured.

She even got a banging bod for a woman her age, something other owners can't say!

 

[Bill Lee]

Oh it was odd for sure to talk about it, that stuff usually gets swept under the rug. Who wants to point out when they’ve wasted millions of dollars? I think the experience was just unpleasantly new to Kraft after decades of BB. Most owners are all too used to the feeling.

But being ready to throw immediate $$millions at a problem is obviously not a sign of cheapness, whether you talk about it or not!

Not to mention also spending the most on a defensive FA, Milt Williams, who is by almost all accounts worth every penny.

They signed 13 FAs and almost all are getting significant playing time (thankfully Josh Dobbs is not!).

So, not only did Bob pay off Mayo's staff, but he also spent big on FAs, to the tune of $288.65M.

Bob is not cheap, IMO.

 

[shmessy]

Kraft will make a documentary, that's for sure, and it will revolve around him and the terrible financial sacrifices he had to make to dump Mayo and bring Vrabel on board.

OK, name any other owner who would do that.

There’s so much *****ing about the guy, and it’s incredible because he is the freaking unicorn of an owner that the fanbase ridiculous craps on. Seriously, some of the fans deserve a lifetime of Sullivans.

.

 

[shmessy]

He may be the only owner in NFL history to pull out the " financial sacrifice" card after replacing a coach.


Mark Davis replaces coaches yearly and gives away chunks of his franchise when he's bored....and he's one of the "poorest"
owners.

How many Super Bowl rings have the Raiders won under Mark Davis’ ownership?

Who did Mark Davis hire for this season???

Has Mark Davis respected the fans? ARE THE RAIDERS STILL IN OAKLAND?

Don’t look at Gift Unicorn in the mouth.

.

 

[maust]

That was tongue in cheek, relax.

What part of literally starting out with '(sigh)' seemed to you like I was anything but relaxed?

 

[Wozzy]

The Krafts should get credit for recognizing the problem and making changes quickly… Vrabel and Cowden turned this around. They were smart hires.

 

[Toofy]

Order of importance

1. Kraft realizing mistake , taking his losses and investing again by firing mayo and hiring Vrabel - first domino
2. Vrabel displaying a masterclass in organization restructure revamping entire org including front office and getting cowden and stretch.
3. Cowden the most crucial operational element towards draft and off-season hires. Vrabel being the final stamp of authority.
4. Eliot wolf realizing his limitations and becoming a secondary role player and able foil and playing to his strengths in terms of scout evaluations and weightage board .

 

[shmessy]

(sigh)
Only here at PF could a thread with a first post giving well deserved kudos to the front office immediately turn to Kraft bashing.
Whatever flaws Kraft has he is still one of the best owners in the league, granted the list of 'good' owners is short.

He didn't crow (publicly) about his team being the NFL's lowest cash spender for a decade.

Borg deserves to be a Vegas Raiders fan - seems he admires Mark Davis’ humility.

1) First 33 years of the franchise - - no stadium, then builds the worst cement block stadium in the NFL, no SB wins
2) Second 33 years - at least an average stadium, mini-city around it in FREAKING FOXBORO, Patriots Hall of Fame, 6 SB wins

Borg complains about the ownership of the second being “cheap”. Wonder where THAT comes from?


.

 

[Bill Lee]

There’s so much *****ing about the guy, and it’s incredible because he is the freaking unicorn of an owner that the fanbase ridiculous craps on. Seriously, some of the fans deserve a lifetime of Sullivans.

Worse fate: a lifetime of Sullivans, or a lifetime of Woody Johnson?

 

[shmessy]

Worse fate: a lifetime of Sullivans, or a lifetime of Woody Johnson?

Answer: A lifetime of Borgs making that choice for the rest of us.

.

 

[gobesmug]

Kraft deserves criticism for the Mayo fiasco as well as credit for righting his own wrong. Should that be considered a wash at this point? I don't know.

Bob pointing out the high cost of buying out Mayo and his assistants is kind of odd, though, as if we're obliged to appreciate his "sacrifice." By the same token, you can't blame an 84-year-old owner for wanting to crow a bit over how things are going.

Idk, maybe he was pointing that out because he knows there are a few HC that purely have their job because the owners are too cheap to cut their losses and rather suck a couple more years than buy out their bad hires.

Yes it came across as weird, but maybe it was a subtle jab or suggestion to other stubborn owners.

 

[borg]

Borg complains about the ownership being “cheap”. Wonder where THAT comes from?


.

Not complaints, just factual statements by the most informed on the subject.

Mike Reiss.........."Lowest cash spender for a decade"
Bill Belichick........"Lowest cash spender during past 3 years"
Tom Brady..........."Discount contracts/lack of weapons/meager salary bumps....Hello Tampa"
Players..................."crap food, crap weight room"

Bonus: $5 Solo cups of tap water at Gillette

 

[shmessy]

Not complaints, just factual statements by the most informed on the subject.

Mike Reiss.........."Lowest cash spender for a decade"
Bill Belichick........"Lowest cash spender during past 3 years"
Tom Brady..........."Discount contracts/lack of weapons/meager salary bumps....Hello Tampa"
Players..................."crap food, crap weight room"

Bonus: $5 Solo cups of tap water at Gillette

That’s ********.

He was paying Belichick the highest of any coach for those three years.

And BELICHICK jettisoned Brady while Kraft wanted to keep him. Any actual Patriot observer knows that. Kraft admits the mistake of choosing a future of Belichick over 42 yr old Brady.

How many owners can keep a Brady and Belichick under one roof for 2 decades. I anxiously await your answer.

 

[patfanken]

I thought we were discussing if the 2025 draft was phenomenal or not.
Based on draft history for all teams, I would classify as phenomenal.
It's rare to get this many starter level players with potential for more from one single draft class.

I think it's time to cool your jets on how good this draft was. If we are realistic, there were 2 or 3 better drafts the YEAR, if you want to be honest. It was a top 5 draft for sure, but "historic"... hardly.

If you want to compliment the FO do it for the FA class. Hard to bring in the number of FA's we did this summer and not have a bust or two. And we should know something about FA busts in recent years. But this class has been special. They might not have been all home runs, but all have been solid contributors who have earned their paychecks, even the guy who got the biggest one.

That's not to say the draft class was special. Perhaps my favorite stat of the regular season was the one that had us 4th in the number of rookie snaps, while the 3 teams that were ahead of us had about 8 wins BETWEEN them. BTW- I bet the rookie who has had the most snaps of them all this season was Craig Woodson (off the top of my head).